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“It was really good for our guys to get on the floor. I think we all were anxious, not only me as a coach, but I thought our players were a little anxious. I thought they did a good job. We can’t give up 68 points though. I like their team, I like their coach. I like the way they play. We don’t see teams like that.”

“It was the first time in 6 years that we played 14 players. It might be the first time we had 14 players. I thought everyone played hard.”

“I think everybody is excited an anxious. I mean when you have three passes that go to in the first row to the guy eating his popcorn, that’s a little bit of excitement.”

“I just came into the game hoping the guys had fun and played well. We did have 10 turnovers in the first half, but I think that was a lot of guys that were just excited to play.”

“I was nervous. I texted Steve right before I went down and thanked him. I was nervous and the guys knew I was nervous.”

“I wasn’t nervous in the sense that I didn’t think I was ready to do the job. I was nervous in the sense that it was a here. For a guy who has waited 15, 16 years to get the first chance, that’s why I was a little nervous.”

“I just wanted the guys to play and get some good experience. It was a good night for me.”

Alex Kirk:

What was it like to have somebody else to play against?

“It was really good because we’ve been going against each other everyday. You get tired of banging into Cam, tired of banging into Big-O. It was good to finally get out there and just be in the atmosphere and be with your teammates. We learned a lot about ourselves tonight. There was definitely a ton of improvement.”

First game in the Pit with Coach Neal, did anything catch you off guard?:

“With Coach Neal nothing will catch you off guard. He’ll drive his motorcycle down the ramp, with him anything goes.”

“It’s different. I would be lying if I said I didn’t sit there during warm-ups and think it was weird without Kory and weird without Coach Alford, but it’s fine. It’s just one of those things that we’re building on. It’s different, it’s new and that’s fine. We are working with each other, working as a team, and getting better everyday.”

Hugh Greenwood:

Opening statement:

“Tonight was all about getting the young guys involved, getting the new guys involved and I think everyone did a great job of that. The veterans helped the young guys, the coaching staff helped the young guys, and I think everyone came out and did a great job.”

Different line-ups, 10 turnovers:

“I think we just had those first game jitters. I think no matter what, you’re going to have those pre-game jitters. Guys aren’t going to be on the same page. There’s so much running through your head during your first game in the Pit.”

First game in Pit with Coach Neal:

“With Coach Neal you know what you are going to get, but yeah like Alex said it was strange without Coach Alford. Every time I would sub out of a game in the last two years I would go sit down on the bench with Kory and talk about things. I miss those guys a lot, but having Coach Neal here is fun and I think we definitely pushed the ball a lot. It’s going to be fun to watch for all the fans and it’s going to be fun play this season as well.”